Chicago Weekend Breaks

Explore

Popular Travel Destinations

Recently Reviewed Hotels Around Chicago

Weekend Breaks to Chicago

Planning a short break to Chicago? Check out Travel Library's recommended Top 10 Things To Do in Chicago. It's a perfect companion for weekend city breaks to Chicago. Once you've been you can add your own tips and suggestions to help other visitors.

(hotels)loading

Top 10 Things in Chicago on a Short Break

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Held annually on the Saturday closest to march 17, this holiday is a great event in Chicago. They even dye the Chicago River green for the big occasion. The parade takes place along Dearborn Street from Wacker Drive to Van Buren

For more information, contact St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, 1340 West Washington Blvd. Chicago, Illinois 60607 (312) 942-9188 or (312) 421-1010.

Email - chicagostpatsparade@worldnet.att.net or go to Website - www.chicagostpatsparade.com

The Auditorium Theatre

Located between Michigan and Wabash avenues, at 50 E. Congress Pkwy, the Auditorium Theatre was built in 1889 by Louis Sullivan Dankmar Adler, and is a certified national landmark, and one of the most beautiful theatres in the city. The shows at the Auditorium are mainly performances of dance and musicals.

For more information phone 312/922-2110, or go to www.auditoriumtheatre.org

Field Museum

Roosevelt Rd. and Lake Shore Dr. This is a great place to take children for a day’s outing, with some stunning attractions like Sue, the biggest T-Rex skeleton ever found, that stands at the entrance of the museum. With a life-size Egyptian tomb, the royal Cameroon Palace, from Africa, Indian tepee’s, and the ‘hidden world of the Imperial court’ in the splendours of China’s Forbidden City, to name just a few, there is much to keep the kids thrilled and interested for hours.

For more information phone 312/922-9410, or go to www.fieldmuseum.org

Museum of Science and Industry

57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637. This museum has some outstanding exhibits. Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle (8'7" x 8'2" x 7'7") is one to bring joy to any little girl, containing over 2000 carefully collected miniatures. Peter Pan’s Jolly Roger pirate ship, from Universal Studios, and the Toymaker 3000, where visitors can watch toys being assembled, are two of the interactive exhibits on display. The Museum of Science and Industry is another museum where parents can take their brood for some entertaining education and fun.

For more information call (773) 684-1414, email msi@msichicago.org, or go www.msichicago.org

Lincoln Park

This is the city's largest and longest park, and is located on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It has a world-class zoo, a botanical conservatory, two museums, a golf course, sporting fields, and tennis courts on its 1,200 acres. Meadows and formal gardens make up the rest of the park.

Art Institute of Chicago

Located at 111 S. Michigan Ave, there is so much to see at this excellent museum, that visitors should plan their visit according to subject of interest. With exhibits on every form of art, from Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Egyptian bronzes, 20th century sculpture, to modern American textiles, the selection is overwhelming.

For more information call 312/443-3600, or go to www.artic.edu

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

Located at 951 Chicago Ave, this is where Frank Lloyd Wright lived for the first 20 years of his career, and from where he designed and built more than 130 of his overall 430 buildings. A constant work in progress, the home began as a simple shingled cottage in 1889, but was added to and remodelled until 1909, when Wright moved from it. The Home and Studio Foundation has restored the residence and studio to its 1909 vintage. Admission to home and studio is by guided tour only, and the tours depart from the Ginkgo Tree Bookshop, Mon-Fri 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Sat-Sun every 20 min. 11am-3.30pm.

For more information call 708/848-1976, or go to www.wrightplus.org

Hyde Park

Generally considered the area from 47th St to 61st St, Hyde Park has a long history from when it was settled in 1850, and became Chicago’s first suburb. There is so much to see and do in the neighbourhood that visitors should plan their itineraries, rather than just wander willy-nilly from place to place. A good beginning would be to walk through the C Campus of the University of Chicago, visit the Museum of Science and Industry, and have a look at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. The Wooded Island in Jackson Park is the site of the Japanese Pavilion, built for the Columbian Exposition and today a garden of beautiful winding paths.

Chicago Thanksgiving Parade

Held in November annually, the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade dates back to 1934, and sees 300,000 people take to the streets in a grand celebration with marching bands, floats, and giant helium balloons. For more information contact the Parade Organisers Chicago Festival Association, PO Box 220219, Chicago, IL 60622, USA, (+) 1 312 781 5681 (+) 1 312 781 5407 (Recommended in the event of any change in dates or venue)

For details visit www.chicagofestivals.org

Chicago Children's Museum

Located at Navy Pier, 700 E Grand Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3428, USA, this museum offers kids aged ten and under creative and educational fun, with such exhibits as the Dinosaur Expedition where they can be junior palaeontologists, or try their hand at piloting a plane in Kids on the Fly.

For more information phone (+) 1 312 527 1000, fax (+) 1 312 527 9082, or write to Chicago Children's Museum, 700 E. Grand Avenue, #127, Chicago, IL 60611.

Website www.chichildrensmuseum.org/

(hotels)loading